Guest Speaker: Chelsea Corser-Jensen

Conversations in Local Health Research

Friday, January 10, 2013

10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Ricketson Auditorium

Brown Bag Lunch with speaker to follow presentation

Traumatic Brain Injury: A "Silent Epidemic"

An estimated 1.7 million people in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, but this estimate only includes injuries for which medical care is sought. Because of this, TBI is considered a ‘silent epidemic’ as many mild TBI cases are unrecognized and unreported, and the magnitude of the morbidity and mortality associated with these injuries has been largely underestimated. Neuroinflammation contributes to brain damage after a TBI and can persist for several years, resulting in neurological disorders and dementia. Our research is focused on understanding how neuroinflammation harms the brain, and we are developing an anti-inflammatory drug to block the detrimental effects of a TBI. Join us for a presentation to learn how the brain interacts with the immune system and our recent successes in finding a novel treatment for this devastating condition.

Chelsea Corser-Jensen is a Graduate Student in the Heidenreich Lab under the Neuroscience Training Program in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus.